Concrete pouring bucket



Ah. b!!- Oct. 18,, 1960 Filed Feb. 5. 1959 G. G. MORIN 2,956,833

CONCRETE POURING BUCKET 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 v INVENTORY azoasz a. MOE/N5 BY ya-437446 ATTOENE Y5 United States Patent Ofilice 2,956,833 Patented Oct. 18, 1960 This invention relates to crane carried buckets for pouring concrete and more particularly to such buckets as include means operable from the crane for discharging the concrete from the bucket.

This application is a continuation-impart of application Serial No. 457,749, filed September 22, 1954.

One object of this invention is to provide a bucket which discharges downwardly through a valve controlled opening which valve is power opened and gravity olosed'and in which likelihood of a failure of the valve to effectively close, when the bucket is only partly emptied is minimized.

Another object of this invention is to provide a crane carried bucket of the above character in which the parts are so arranged and constructed that the contents of the bucket may be discharged by the crane operator and without the assistance of workmen at the point of discharge.

The buckets presently in use are not effective for rapid underwater operations, since a great degree of care must be taken in lowering such buckets into the water to avoid substantial loss of its contents by spillage or water wash out. A further object of this invention is to provide a novel bucket of the above character capable of high speed underwater operation.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a novel valve controlled concrete pouring bucket for underwater operations with a bucket closure and valve lock automatically controlled by the operation of the bucket lift line.

Other and further objects of this invention will be more readily apparent from a reading of the following description with reference to the following drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective of a concrete pouring bucket embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the bucket shown in Fig. 1 taken along line 22 of Fig. 1, and on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and on a reduced scale;

Fig. 4 is a section taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a concrete pouring bucket embodying the present invention and especially suitable for underwater operations;

Fig. 6 is an elevation of the upper portion of the bucket shown in Fig. 1 on an enlarged scale and with a portion cut away to show constructional details;

Fig. 7 is an elevation of the portion of the bucket shown in Fig. 5 and with the bucket turned 90;

Fig. 8 is a view of the bucket as shown in Fig. 6 in which the bucket cover member is in open position; and

Fig. 9 is a detailed showing and partly in section of the bucket cover opening mechanism.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to Figs. 1-4, a bucket body is shown as comprising a cylindrical member 10 which forms the side walls 12 of the bucket.

, ,A conical member 14 has its upper periphery welded or otherwise secured to the lower edge of the side walls 12. The conical member is downwardly and inwardly tapered and terminates in a cylindrical spout 15 defining a downwardly directed discharge opening 16 for the bucket.

A hoist bail for the bucket comprises an I-bea-m 18 which extends diametrically across the top opening of the bucket and is secured to opposite wall portions 12 of the bucket by means of upstanding plates 20 which are bolted to the side walls, as indicated at 21. The ends of the I-beam are secured to the upstanding plates 20 in any suitable manner as by welding. An eye 22 is welded to the top center portion of the I-beam and is adapted to be connected to a hoisting or lift line 24- which extends from a crane.

Means for supporting the bucket in an upright position for discharging its contents comprises a base ring 26 which is secured to the lower ends of four upstanding supports 28. The upstanding supports 28 are of ,channel type construction and are Welded to the outer [wall portions of the bucket.

10 is a reenforcing spider 34 having three radially extending arm portions welded or otherwise secured to the inner face of the member 10.

The discharge of concrete through the spout 15 is controlled by a valve member or head 36. The valve head is connected to the lower end portion of a rod 38 which extends upwardly through a bearing '40 supported by the spider 34 on the vertical axis of the bucket. A block 42 is secured to the upper end portion of the rod 38. The lower end of a bar 44 is attached to one side of the block 42 and is thus offset from the axis of the bucket. The bar 44 extends upwardly through a guide bracket 46 secured to one side of the I-beam 18. The upper end portion of the bar is provided with an aperture 48 by which the bar is connected to an opening line 50 which extends from the. crane. By imposing a suitable proportion of the weight of the bucket on the line 50 the valve head 36 may be raised to permit. concrete to be discharged from the bucket and by slacking this line the valve will close, the extent of upward movement of the valve head being limited to the distance from the upper surface of the block 42 to the undersurface of the I- beam .18.

Means for breaking up low slum concrete within the bucket is provided by arms 52 which are secured to wedgeshaped blocks 53 by means of screws 54. The arms 52 extend radially outward from the block 42 and are preferably in the form of angle irons such as shown in Fig. 4. The apex portions of these bars are disposed upwardly so that as the valve is raised, the arms will be easily drawn through the concrete within the bucket. These arms insure speedy and eflicient pouring of low slump concrete from the bucket.

The valve head 36 has an upper conical surface, the apex portion of which is disposed upwardly, and a flat lower surface or base portion. The conical surface of the valve head has an inclination a which is sufficiently large to insure a rapid downward flow of concrete over the valve head when it is raised or unseated. The inclination of the valve head 36 also enables it to be easily raised even through low slump concrete. The conical surface at the valve head as it is raised acts to force the concrete outwardly toward the conical side wall portion of the bucket. The conical portion of the bucket has an inclination b which also is sufiiciently large to insure a rapid downward flow of cement from the bucket. For best operation of the bucket, the angles a and b should be not substantially less than 45. The conical surface of the valve head and its fiat base which is of larger diameter than the bucket discharge opening intersect to form a peripheral edge 55. The edge 55 is adapted to engage or seat against the conical portion of the bucket 14 making a line contact therewith slightly above the top of the spout 15. This construction provides a valve entrance angle and an exit angle d. For most efficient closing operation of the valve these angles should not be substantially less than 45". This provides a closure edge 55 which is sharp as distinguished from a curve of appreciable radius and which overcomes any tendency of the valve to be held partially open, as by stones being wedged between the edge of the valve head and the bucket sides. The sharp closure edge 55 insures good closure of the bucket discharge opening acting to kick out any stones which tend to wedge the valve open.

The valve head 36 is of solid construction and is of sufiicient weight to be closed by gravity upon release of tension from the crane opening line 50. It has been found, for example, that a valve weight of approximately 200 lbs. is suitable for a 2 yard concrete bucket and approximately 175 lbs. has been found equally suitable for a one yard bucket. A valve head having a weight such as set forth above will close upon release to completely shut off the fiow of concrete from the bucket. This gravity closed valve bucket eliminates the need for more complex closing mechanisms such as heretofore employed.

The fiat bottom surface of the valve head 36 and its relatively great weight make it useful for forcing difficultto-pour concrete through the bucket spout.

The valve weight also plays an important part in vibrating the bucket to loosen pre-set concrete from its side walls. In vibrating the bucket the valve is raised to cause the block 42 to forcibly strike the undersurface of the I-beam and is then dropped. This eliminates the necessity of providing men at the bucket pouring location to strike the sides of the bucket, as is currently the practice.

Referring now in detail to Figs. to 9, a modification of the concrete pouring bucket described above will now .be described. The bucket, its supporting structure and valve are identical in construction to the bucket described above and are indicated with like reference characters.

This bucket includes a cover which is indicated generally at 56 by which the bucket is particularly adapted for use in under water pouring operations.

The cover 56 includes two generally semicircular portions 58, each of which is pivotally mounted on a rod 60. A strip 62 is disposed on the upper surface of each of the cover portions 58 and includes an axial bore for receiving the rods 60. The rods 60 are supported at opposite ends by brackets 64 which are secured to the upper outer surface portions of upstanding plates 66. The lower portions of the plates 66 are bolted as at 67 (Fig. 7) to opposite inner wall portions of the bucket. The opposite ends of a T beam 68 are welded to the plates 66 forming a lifting bail for the bucket.

Means for lifting or supporting the weight of the bucket comprises a rod 70 having an upper eye portion 72 which is adapted to be connected to the lift line 73 of a crane. The rod 70 extends upwardly from a plunger 74 (Fig. 9) which is slidably disposed within a tubular member 76. The tubular member 76 is secured in an upright position to a plate 78 as by welding and the plate is secured to the upper surface of the T-bar 68 by bolts 79 in a position such that the rod 70 is in vertical alignment with the bucket axis. A cap 80 is fastened over the top of the tubular member 76 by screws 81 and the rod 70 extends through an opening in the center of the cap. A compression spring 82 is axially disposed about the rod 70 and is carried on the upper surface of the plunger 74. A sleeve 84 extends upwardly from the upper surface of the plunger 74 and is disposed about the lower portion of the rod 70, and within the compression spring 82. The upper surface of the sleeve 84 is adapted to engage the undersurface of the cap to limit the extent of upward movement of the plunger 74. Arms 86 extend radially outward from opposite side portions of the plunger 74 through vertical slots 88. A pair of linkages 90 are pivotally mounted about the outer end portions of each of the arms 86 and are spaced from the adjacent side wall of the tubular member 76 by a washer 92. The linkages are locked in place by means of snap rings 94. The lower ends of the linkages 90 are pivotally mounted about rods 96 (Fig. 6) which are supported in spaced relation with the top of the cover portions 58 by brackets 96'. When the tension is released from the crane lift line 73, the compression spring 82 forces the plunger 74 downwardly. This carries the arms 86 vertically downward in the slots 88 and, as best seen in Fig. 8, this moves the linkages 90 downwardly to open the cover portions 58. It will thus be observed that when the weight of the bucket is supported by the base ring 26 the bucket cover will be automatically opened permitting the bucket to be filled with concrete or emptied as the case may be.

The valve head 36 may be raised permitting the discharge of concrete from the bucket by exerting an upward force on the valve bar 44 as by the line 89 (Fig. 5) which extends from the crane and is called an opening line. In order to prevent premature opening of the valve member 36 as when rapidly lowering the bucket into water or through error of the operator, means are provided for locking the valve in its closed position until the bucket comes to rest at the pouring location.

The valve locking means comprises a latch plate 97 pivotally mounted on a pin 98 which extends through a lower portion of the T-bar 68 at a point offset from the bucket The upper portion of latch plate 97 is of bifurcated construction and straddles the T-bar 68 as best seen in Fig. 7. A link 100 is pivotally connected to the latch plate 97 by a pin 102 which extends outwardly of the plate 97 at a point inwardly of the pin 98. The upper end of the link 100 is pivotally mounted on a pin 104 which extends outwardly from the plunger 74 (Fig. 9) through a vertical slot 106 (Fig. 6) in the tubular member 76. The lower end of the plate 97 is adapted to engage the upper surface of the block 42 which is secured to the top of the valve rod 38 (Fig. 7). In this position the latch 97 locks the valve head 36 in its closed positions. As the weight of the bucket is taken off the lift line 73 whereby the compression spring 82 forces the plunger 74 downwardly, the pin 104 is carried downwardly with the plunger. This moves the line 100 downwardly and rotates the latch plate 97 about pin 98 to an unlocked position, such as shown in Fig. 6. The lower end of the latch 97 is tapered as at 103 so that the latch will not wedge in its locking position by the upward movement of the valve head 36.

In the operation of the underwater pouring bucket, when the filled bucket is lifted by its rod 70, the valve member 36 will be closed and locked in a closed position by the latch 97. In addition, the cover 56 of the bucket will also be closed. The bucket may be rapidly lowered into the water and even a substantial impact with the water will not cause the valve head 36 to be forced open, since it is positively locked by the latch plate 96. It will be readily appreciated that this is a substantial advantage in underwater operations, since no particular care must be taken in lowering the bucket into the water, which would tend to slow operations. When the base ring 26 of the bucket is brought to rest at the pouring location, the lift line 73 is slacked and the spring 82 forces the plunger 74 downwardly in the manner described above. The downward movement of the plunger pivots the latch 97 to its unlocked position as shown in Fig. 6 and opens the cover 56 as shown in Fig. 8. sufficient force is applied to the line 89 to lift the valve head 36 permitting the downward discharge of concrete from the bucket. Upon completion of the pouring operation, the tension may be released from the line 89, and the valve head 36 will be gravity closed due to its Weight. In lifting the bucket the line 73 is taken up and exerts an upward force on the rod 70. When this force is sufiicient to compress the spring 82, the upward movement of the plunger 74 will close the cover 56 and pivot the latch 97 to its valve locking position.

In underwater pouring operations, concrete should be discharged or released from the bucket below the surface of previously poured concrete. Failure to do this results in substantial waste of concrete since the concrete being discharged from the bucket becomes mixed with the surrounding water and in large measure washed away. With the above-described structure, the valve head 36 is locked closed by the latch 97 until the bucket is brought to rest in the previously poured concrete. The previously poured concrete is of sufiicient density to support the weight of the bucket when the bucket spout is submerged slightly below the surface of the concrete. With the weight of the bucket thus removed from the lift line 73, it becomes sufficiently slackened to permit the spring 82 to open the cover and pivot the latch 97 clear of the valve head 36. The crane operator can then lift the valve head 36. Using this bucket, it has been found that even operators of little skill can successfully complete an underwater pouring job.

The unit 76, the cover 56 and the latch 97 are all mounted on the beam 68 which together with the plates 66, form the bail for the bucket. This bail, which is bolted to the side walls of the bucket, may be readily removed when the bucket is not to be used in underwater operations. Another bail such as shown in Fig. 1 may then be bolted in place in the bucket. With this construction a single bucket may be quickly and easily converted for either underwater or dry pouring.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A crane carried concrete pouring bucket comprising a bucket body having a lower conical portion tapered inwardly and downwardly and terminating in a downwardly directed discharge opening, a channel ring disposed about the outer surface of said bucket and adjacent its upper edge, support members extending downwardly from said ring and terminating below the bottom of the bucket body, a base ring connected to the lower ends of said support members, a beam extending diametrically across the top of said bucket, an eye secured to the top of said beam at the center thereof, a spider disposed within said bucket and having an opening disposed about the vertical axis thereof, a conically shaped valve head for controlling the discharge of concrete through said opening with its apex portion disposed upwardly and the base portion of said valve head having a diameter larger than said opening, the conical surface and the base portion of said valve head intersecting at an angle of not substantially greater than 45 to form a closure edge adapted to engage the conical portion of said bucket along a line spaced above said discharge opening, the conical surface and the base of said valve head forming valve entrance and exit angles with the conical portion of said bucket of not substantially less than 45, an actuating rod extending upwardly from said valve member and through the axial opening of said spider, said actuating rod terminating at a given distance below the bottom of said beam, a block secured to the upper terminal end of said actuating rod, and adapted to strike said beam when the valve head is fully opened, a bar secured to a side of said block and extending upwardly therefrom to a height above the top of said beam, said bar being adapted to be connected to a second lift line, a guide bracket secured to said beam and slidingly receiving said bar member, and angle irons extend- .6 ing outwardly of said block with the apex portion thereof disposed upwardly.

2. A crane carried concrete pouring bucket comprising a bucket body, the lower portion of said bucket having a downwardly directed discharge opening, a valve member for controlling the discharge of concrete through said opening, an actuating member connected with said valve member, means for supporting the weight of said bucket and adapted to be connected to a lift line extending from said crane, a cover movably mounted at the top of said bucket, and means responsive to a predetermined force applied in the direction of bucket lift for closing said cover and to a release of said force for opening said cover.

3. A crane carried concrete pouring bucket as set forth in claim 2 and including a latch for locking said valve member in a normally closed position and means responsive to the release of said predetermined force for releasing said latch from its valve locking position.

4. A crane carried concrete pouring bucket comprising a bucket body, a lower portion of said body having a downwardly directed discharge opening, a valve head for controlling the discharge of concrete through said opening, means for actuating said valve head and adapted to be connected to an opening line extending from said crane, said valve head having a sufiicient mass to be gravity closed when unrestrained by said opening line, movable means for supporting the weight of said bucket and adapted to be connected to a lift line extending from said crane, means for releasably urging said weight supporting means to a first position, said urging means adapted to be overcome by the application of a bucket lifting force to said supporting means, a cover pivotally mounted on said bucket, means responsive to the movement of said supporting means from said first position for pivoting said cover to a closed position and to an open position on movement of said supporting means to said first position, a latch for locking said valve head in its closed position, and means responsive to movement of said supporting means to said first position for releasing said latch and permitting said valve to be opened.

5. A crane carried concrete pouring bucket comprising a bucket body, the lower portion of said body having a downwardly directed discharge opening, a valve head for controlling the discharge of concrete through said opening, means for actuating said valve head and adapted to be connected to an opening line extending from said crane, said valve head having a sufiicient mass to be gravity closed when unrestrained by said opening line, a beam extending across the top of said bucket body, a vertically movable support member mounted on said beam and having upper and lower positions, a spring urging said support member into its lower position, the upper portion of said support member being adapted to be connected to a crane lift line, said support member being movable to an upper position by the application of a bucket lifting force thereto, a cover pivotally mounted at the top of said bucket, 21 first linkage carried by said support member and pivotally connected to said cover, a latch plate pivotally mounted on said beam for locking and unlocking the valve head, a second linkage carried by said support member and pivotally connected to said latch plate, said first linkage being operable by upward movement of said support member for closing said cover and by the downward movement of said support member for opening said cover, said second linkage being operable by the upward movement of said support member for moving said latch plate to a valve locking position and by downward movement of said support member for moving said latch plate to a valve unlocking position.

6. A crane carried concrete pouring bucket comprising a bucket body having a downwardly directed discharge opening, a valve member for controlling the discharge of concrete through said opening, an actuating member connected with said valve member, a lifting bail remove ably mounted on said bucket, means mounted by said bail for supporting the weight of said bucket and adapted to be connected to a lift line extending from said crane, a cover movably carried by said bail, and means carried on said bail responsive to a predetermined force applied in the direction of bucket lift for closing said cover and to a release of said force for opening said cover.

7. A crane carried concrete pouring bucket as set forth in claim 6 above and including a latch carried by said bail for locking said valve member in a normally closed position and means disposed on said bail responsive to the release of said predetermined force for releasing said latch from its valve locking position.

8. In a concrete pouring bucket which includes a bucket body having a lower conical portion tapered inwardly and downwardly and terminating in a downwardly directed discharge opening; a valve member for controlling the discharge of concrete through said opening, the outer end of said valve member having a surface lying in a plane at right angles to the direction of movement of the valve member and terminating in a sharp peripheral edge making a line contact with the surface of the lower conical portion of the bucket body when the valve is closed, no portion of the valve member being larger in diameter than the diameter of said edge.

9. In a concrete pouring bucket which includes a bucket body having a lower conical portion tapered inwardly and downwardly and terminating in a downwardly directed discharge opening; a valve member for controlling the discharge of concrete through said opening, the outer end of said valve member having a surface lying in a plane at right angles to the direction of movement of the valve member and intersecting the inner surface of the valve member to form a sharp circular edge making a lineal engagement with the surface of the lower conical portion of the bucket body when the valve is closed, the inner end surface of the valve member decreasing in diameter from that of said edge in the form of a cone.

10. In a concrete pouring bucket which includes a bucket body having a lower conical portion tapered inwardly and downwardly and terminating in a downwardly directed discharge opening; spaced guide members secured to said bucket body and disposed above said lower conical portion thereof, a rod guided by said guide members for reciprocation longitudinally of the bucket body, a valve member carried by said rod for controlling the discharge of concrete through said discharge opening, the outer end of said valve member having a surface lying in a plane at right angles to the direction of movement of said stem and intersecting the inner surface of said valve member to form a sharp circular edge making a lineal engagement with the surface of the lower conical portion of the bucket body when the valve is closed, the portions of said valve member above said edge being no larger in diameter than the diameter of said edge.

11. A concrete pouring bucket as in claim 10 having bar members extending radially outward from said valve rod intermediate said spaced guide members for breaking up concrete in said bucket when the rod and valve member are in motion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 573,708 Sawyer Dec. 22, 1896 870,111 Levy Nov. 5, 1907 1,787,624 Hemphill Jan. 6, 1931 1,875,174 McGivern Aug. 30, 1932 2,349,476 Trickey May 23, 1944 2,602,000 Richardson July 1, 1952 2,856,223 Weaver Oct. 14, 1958 

